Ethnomedicine and oral rehydration therapy: a case study of ethnomedical investigation and program planning

Diarrheal disease prevention and diarrheal disease control with oral rehydration therapy are major goals of the World Health Organization and the international health community. This paper promotes the use of ethnographic research in this endeavor. It illustrates the use of ethnography in a diarrheal disease prevention and control program in Honduras by illustrating how knowledge of local beliefs and practices partially shaped promotion efforts. It confirms the validity of the original ethnographic findings by reporting the results of a survey conducted two years after program onset.